TV

‘First Contact’ Got Mixed Reviews Last Night, Was Accused Of Being “Racism As Entertainment”

Some felt that it facilitated epiphanies at the expense of non-white people.

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Last night the second season of First Contact began and while many people watched it, it did not necessarily attract the reaction that SBS may have anticipated. The show involves six white celebrities — including One Nation co-founder David Oldfield — visiting Indigenous communities for 28 days and confronting their (often racist) views about First Australians.

Today First Contact seems to be receiving some of the same backlash as Go Back To Where You Came From and Struggle Street, with people questioning whether the show is educational or just straight exploitative.

Some viewers thought First Contact was valuable in provoking important conversations about issues that many white Australians choose to ignore, others believed it was thoughtlessly broadcasting racism (particularly in a montage of some participants spouting hateful and ill-informed views in the first portion of the episode) and facilitating epiphanies at the expense of non-white people.

Fair to say that the reaction was mixed.

It will be interesting to see how the other two parts will be received, and if the overwhelming reaction will continue to be that forcing Indigenous Australians to relive their trauma for educational purposes is the very definition of white privilege.



First Contact season 2 will continue at 8.30pm tonight and tomorrow on SBS and NITV. Check back later today for Junkee’s review.